Our Favourite Strawberry
by Raye Lynne
Summary: Q: When Orihime plans a surprise sixteenth birthday party for Ichigo, what can posssibly go wrong? A: Everything! Twoshot; pure fluff, COMPLETE! Features the song "Monsoon" by Tokio Hotel. Enjoy!
1. Part One

A/N: Hi! You might have read some of my Bleach fics before. This story is absolutely nothing like "Oblivion" or "Redemption"; it's more along the lines of "Paranoid Delusions", (only A LOT fluffier) and "Matsumoto, Matchmaker". So, for you cheesy-romance-and-stupid-humor masochists, welcome, welcome.

And everyone else, too. I'm not picky!

Anyway, this story was originally meant to be a oneshot, but it came out too long, so it's a twoshot instead. Hopefully, part two will be out next week.

Enjoy, and please review!

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**Our Favourite Strawberry**

Part One

"Ouch! Paper cut!"

Placing her stinging finger in her mouth, Orihime turned the pages on the page-a-day calendar with her other hand. Scanning the dates, she saw where she had written, in her round, looping scrawl, on July 15th: _Ichigo's birthday._

"I knew it!" she said to herself. "It's July 8th tomorrow, so I only have a week to come up with a great idea! He's turning sixteen, so it has to be something special."

She climbed into bed, and spent hours mulling over various ideas before finally falling asleep.

When she woke the morning of July 8th, she had the perfect solution.

"I'll throw a surprise party, with everyone invited! It will be so much fun, and I'm just sure he'll like it!"

She immediately sat down and began working on a guest list:

_-Tatsuki _

_-Chad_

_-Uryuu_

_-Chizuru_

_-Mizuiro_

_-Keigo_

_-Karin_

_-Yuzu_

_-Isshin_

Then she sat down at the phone and dialed the Kurosaki's number. With any luck, Ichigo would still be asleep.

No such luck. It was his voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

Orihime dropped the phone in surprise, and it rolled across the floor, _thumpthumpthump. _She scrambled after it and hastily pushed the "off" button.

Five minutes later, she tried again. And again, and again, for almost two hours. And, even though the voice on the other end became slightly more disgruntled each time, it was Ichigo who answered.

Finally, the luck kicked in, and it was Karin who answered. "Look, if you don't quit harassing us—"

"Shhhhh…Karin, it's Orihime."

"It was you the whole time?"

"Yes; I'm sorry, but I was waiting for someone besides Ichigo to pick up the phone. I'm having a surprise party for him at my apartment at 5:30, and I want you and Yuzu and your dad to come if you can – and be here by 5:00."

"Yeah, okay – no, sorry, we don't answer phone surveys."

Orihime was confused. "What?"

"Sorry," Karin whispered. "Ichigo just walked through the room. Don't worry, we'll be there. 'Kay, gotta go."

"Bye!"

"Bye."

Next, she called Tatsuki.

"That'll be cool," said Tatsuki when she'd been told of the plan. "But how are you going to get Ichigo to come?"

"I have no idea," Orihime admitted. "I don't know how I can talk to him without giving the whole thing away."

"I'll handle it," Tatsuki promised. "It'll probably seem more legit if someone else invites him over. I'll say something like, some of us are going to this new movie, and we'll meet up at your place first."

"There's a new movie out?"

"There's always lots; we'll just pick one. I'll wait a couple of days, though; it'll seem weird if we set it up a whole week in advance, and he might get suspicious."

"Okay, that'll be great! Thanks, Tatsuki-chan!"

"No problem."

After that, she called everyone else on the list, and they all said 'yes'.

But she still felt like someone was missing.

Orihime thought for a while, then it came to her.

"Rukia-san! I have to invite her, somehow; Ichigo will be so happy if she can come!"

She paused. "But how am I going to reach her? I can't get to Soul Society by myself. I'll just ask Ichigo to – oops, I guess I can't, heh heh…Hmmmmmm, I could see if Uryuu could – no, they don't like him there very much, since he's a Quincy. Who else…? Well, Kon's a soul, isn't he, technically? I'll get him to do it! And I think I know where to find him."

She wrote out an invitation and sealed it in an envelope, then left her apartment building and walked off down the street.

As she rounded the corner, she almost walked right into Mizuiro, Keigo and –Ichigo.

"O-oh!" stammered Orihime. "Hi, Ichigo." She thrust the envelope behind her back.

Ichigo noticed. "You do know there's a mailbox right next to your apartment…?"

"Well, yes, but I – um – it was such a nice day, so I decided to walk a little further. Sooooo – yep!"

Shrugging, Ichigo said, "Well, see you later, Orihime."

"Bye!" she replied, plastering a huge fake smile on her face. When he was gone, she cringed. _Why do I always have to sound so stupid when I talk to him? How come I always get nervous around him? He must think I'm so weird._

_This party will be a success! It has to be! _Orihime thought determinedly.

She walked to the park. The soccer field was overrun by Jinta, Karin, and their friends. Just as Orihime had hoped, Yuzu was sitting on the sidelines, with Kon propped up beside her.

"Hi, Yuzu!" said Orihime, walking over. "How are you?"

"Fine?"

"It sure is a nice day, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh."

Orihime sighed, and cut to the chase. "Hey, Yuzu, can I borrow Kon for a little while?"

The young girl frowned. "Kon? Who's Kon? You mean Bostov?"

"Yes, Bostov? Can I borrow him, please?"

"What do you want with Bostov?"

"I—it's important. It has to do with –" Orihime looked around, making sire no one was listening. "—Ichigo's party."

"Oooooooooooh," said Yuzu, nodding knowingly. "Okay, here he is!" She thrust the stuffed lion at Orihime so suddenly that she staggered back a step before accepting him.

"Be careful with him," Yuzu cautioned.

"I will! Thank you so much!"

As soon as they left the soccer field, Kon came to life. "Thank you for saving me, Orihime! I was sitting in the hot sun all morning; I thought I was gonna melt! I'm sooo glad to see you!" He wrapped his short arms around her chest for a hug – among other things. This was Kon, after all.

Gingerly, Orihime pried him off. "I need you to do me favour."

Kon's polished glass eyes glinted. "_Anything _for you," he said slyly.

Orihime asked him to deliver the envelope to Rukia and bring back her answer.

"What am I, a messenger?" whined Kon. "Do I look like a butterfly to you?"

"Kon, that envelope holds an invitation to a party. If you dot his for me, you can come, too, okay?"

"A party, hm?" Kon mulled it over. "Will there be babes?"

"Um…yes...?"

"Okay, I'll do it!"

When Orihime got home, she grabbed herself a can of oolong tea from the fridge and collapsed into a chair. That had been a lot more work than she'd expected, what with her surprise encounter with Ichigo, coaxing Yuzu to temporarily relinquish "Bostov" and bribing Kon to deliver the invitation.

And it _was _ hot outside.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and all she'd managed to do was 'send out' the invites in one way or the other. She still had to get the cake, buy food, make more food, plan/buy/make/put up decorations, download some good party music, and keep the whole thing a secret from Ichigo.

Suddenly, Orihime was exhausted, and she spent the rest of the day alternating between making lists and napping.

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The next day, it was pouring rain.

"Oh no," said Orihime. "Well, I guess I can't go out shopping today…I'll download the party music instead."

She dug her iPod out from under her bed and turned her computer on. The songs on her iPod were mostly pop tunes, with a handful of random stuff thrown in, like "The Hamster Dance" and "The Doom Song". As well, there were a few songs that were more poetic and soulful, and didn't really fall under any category.

Orihime wasn't a hundred percent certain as to Ichigo's tastes in music, but she was pretty sure he was a punk/rock kind of guy.

Finally her computer finished loading, and she clicked on iTunes, spending the next three hours scrolling through lists of songs, and selecting tunes along the lines of Hedley, Fall Out Boy, Billy Talent, Green Day, and Wolfmother.

A lightning flash came from outside, followed almost immediately by a clap of thunder, and Orihime jumped, startled for a moment.

Leaning back in her chair, she waited for the songs to finish downloading onto her computer.

"It's so slow," she moaned. "This is taking forever."

Just then, lightning flashed again, and the lights flickered, then went out, and her computer screen went black.

"Oh no!" cried Orihime. "Now what can I do? I can't go out, and there's nothing I can do here until I go shopping…!"

The power didn't come back on until 9:30 at night, and then Orihime started all over again with the downloading.

She finally collapsed into bed at 2:00 am and fell asleep instantly.

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July 10th.

Five more days.

Two days gone.

And all Orihime had to show for it was a few lists, a full iPod, and sleep deprivation.

Nevertheless, she was determined to venture out to get the decorations today, and she knew exactly where to go.

The store Party Central! was a little place stocked with everything party-related that you could imagine, from low-budget to high, from a small get-together to an enormous formal gathering, and most definitely what Orihime was searching for: something that fit nicely in between.

Her eyes fixed on the list she'd made, she strode through the aisles, selecting exactly what she wanted: balloons, by the hundred, rolls of ribbon and crepe paper streamers by the mile, masses of construction paper, a spool of fishing line, pot of glitter and packets of confetti. Everything was in the colour theme she'd chosen: bright red, with black, white, and silver as the supporting colours. She also picked up a red linen table cloth, and some pretty glass serving bowls and plates. She found some strings of red-and-white twinkling lights, and scooped up half a dozen. Finally, she took a huge roll of white fabric and some acrylic paints to make a banner.

No problems there, but with her arms laden with bags and boxes, when Orihime stepped out of Party Central!, she groaned. Because, of course, her house was uphill from the store.

As she struggled uphill, the sun rose higher into the sky. Apparently, it was going to be another hot day.

It was only a fifteen-minute walk from her apartment to the store, but it was an hour and a half after she left Party Central! until she returned home and gratefully put everything down.

After a brief rest, however, she decided to go back out to the cake shop. But, no sooner had she reached the corner than she saw a young black Labrador dash in front of her; something soft and yellow was clutched in its mouth.

"Heeeeelllllllllp meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" came a strangled cry from the soft yellow thing.

_Kon! _Orihime realized. She chased after the dog. "Hey! Come back! Here, puppy!" she called.

The dog, seeing it had someone to join in the game, ran faster. _Catch me if you can! _It seemed to say.

Soon, the fast pace and the hot sun took its toll, and Orihime was forced to stop, and stood, bent double, gasping for air.

She felt something nudge her leg. She looked up to see the dog, its huge brown eyes wondering, _Why did you stop playing?_

Orihime reached out and took a hold of Kon's arm, and pulled.

The dog, delighted to have a new game to play, pulled as well.

"Owwwwwwwwwwwwww!" yelled Kon.

The dog, not used to its toys yelling, let go in surprise. Orihime scoped Kon up and held him over her head.

"No more toy for you," she told the dog sternly. The dog hung its head and walked away in search of someone else to play with.

Once she carried him back to her apartment, Orihime examined Kon. The dog's teeth had ripped a few gashes across his body, and the stuffing was in danger of falling out.

Kon coughed. "Rukia," he said weakly.

"What?"

"Rukia," Kon repeated. "She – said – yes." Then he flopped backwards and was still.

"Kon?" Orihime gasped. "Kon, are you okay? Wake up! Kon, say something!"

Coughing and wheezing, Kon came back to life. "Quick – I need – mouth-to-mouth –"

"Apparently, you don't," Orihime noted.

"Was it that obvious?" grumbled Kon.

Orihime decided not to reply. "You're cut up pretty badly," she said. "Maybe I'll take you to see Uryuu, and he can –"

"Oh no!" declared Kon. "Now way, Nuh-_uh! _Last time he repaired me, he replaced my mane with _lace_, pinned _flowers_ on my ears and sewed a flippin' _Quincy cross _on _the back of my head! _No way am I going through _that_ again."

"C'mon, Kon, please? I don't have the time, and I'm sure if we just ask –"

"No way, and that's final!"

Sewing was not Orihime's strong suit. She was forced to work very slowly and poked herself dozens of times with the needle.

The good thing: when she was through, Kon looked almost as good as new.

The bad thing: it had taken the better part of the afternoon, and the cake shop was now closed.

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So, the next day, the shop, Confection Perfection, was her first stop. She flipped through the huge selection of designs they offered and chose a chocolate cake with white frosting, with a pattern of flames in red, orange, and yellow icing and pieces of dark chocolate shaped like starts around the outside. The cake artist told Orihime that she could pick up her order at noon on July 15th.

From there, she went to the grocery market. Selecting a cart, she filled it up with a number of food items and ingredients, until it was overflowing. She steered it around a corner. Once again, she nearly bumped into –

"Ichigo!" cried Orihime, trying not to blush furiously. "How come you're here?"

"Um…my old man made me come and get a couple of things." He eyed the contents of her cart. "It looks like you're getting more than a couple of things, though."

"Um, yeah, I'm, uh – stocking up," said Orihime. _Why, why, WHY do I have to sound so stupid?_

"You're gonna need help getting these back to your place."

"No, no, I'll be fine, thanks."

"Don't be dumb; how are you gonna carry all that by yourself?"

So, when Orihime was walking back to her apartment, Ichigo was walking with her.

"So, Tatsuki phoned me this morning," he said.

_Oh no! _Orihime realized. _She probably called me right after, so we would be able to keep our cover story straight – but I was out!_

"She said we were all gonna go and see that movie on Friday," Ichigo continued. "What one was it again?"

Inwardly crossing her fingers, Orihime quickly spoke the title of a film for which she'd seen commercials and secretly really wanted to go and watch. "_When the River Cries, _was it?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I don't think so. Let me think; oh yeah, it was _In Cold Blood."_

Orihime cringed. She couldn't have been further off. _When the River Cries _was a much-anticipated romantic dramedy, while _In Cold Blood _was an indy thriller. But she laughed it off. "Oh, right, of course. I don't know what I was thinking!"

Was she being paranoid? Or did he look suspicious?

She quickly continued. "Anyway, she told you we're going to meet at my apartment first, right?"

"Yeah, at 5:30…but she didn't say for what."

"Oh! Well – for…cake, of course! Your birthday cake!"

"Oh yeah…my birthday." Ichigo looked distant.

"You forgot your own birthday?"

"Yeah, kind of. It's not really a big deal, right? It's just another year." He paused, and very nearly smiled. "Although, there was a while there when I didn't think I would live to be sixteen…"

They reached Orihime's apartment building then, and ascended the elevator in silence.

As Orihime fumbled with her keys in the lock, she said, "Thanks for your help, Ichigo."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," he said dismissively. He paused again, and his tone changed. "Hey, Orihime – I was thinking, and –"

But the door came unlocked then, and Kon ran out.

_Yikes! _Thought Orihime. _I forgot about Kon!_

"Kon!" she cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Wha?" said Kon. "You know what—owwww!" Orihime had stomped on his tail.

"Your being here is very _suspicious, _Kon," said Orihime, hoping he'd get the hint. "You wouldn't want anyone to _wonder why you're here, _would you?"

"Huh?" said Kon.

"C'mon, you," said Ichigo, setting down all the groceries – except his own -- and grabbing the stuffed lion roughly around the waist. "Um – so – see you later, Orihime."

"Yeah, bye," she replied.

After making a few trips of carrying the groceries in, Orihime finally closed the door and allowed herself a sigh of relief. "That was close on so many levels! I hope I didn't give anything away."

After unloading the groceries, Orihime decided to take so time for herself and relax with a good book for a change. Most of the work was done. It would all be smooth sailing from here…

…right?

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Orihime took the roll of white fabric she'd bought and rolled it out across the living room floor. She'd have preferred to do it in the kitchen, but it wasn't big enough.

She'd dressed in hole-y sweatpants and a stained t-shirt. The colours were lined up on the floor next to her, along with the couple of paintbrushes she'd scrounged up. She examined the expanse of unblemished white for a moment, then got to work.

Or tried to.

She tried to pull the lid off the red paint jar, but it was very stuck. She adjusted her grip and tried again.

It wouldn't budge.

On the third attempt, the lid came off without warning, and the jar and the lid flew from her hands in separate directions, spraying paint everywhere. When the jar landed, the plastic cracked, leaking red onto the carpet, so it now matched the smears on the walls, the curtains, the couch, the TV. set, and Orihime herself.

And, of course, the paint was quick-drying.

In fact, the only thing that had escaped the mess was the banner fabric, which seemed to mock her with its still-flawless white.

With a sigh, Orihime prepared herself for a day of cleaning.

-----------------------

After going over everything in the living room with a scrub brush and baking soda, the area was so clean it practically sparkled. However, it only served to highlight what a mess the rest of her apartment was.

So, guess what Orihime spent the day doing?

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July 14th.

Orihime painted up the banner, then spent hours carefully and meticulously touching up the lines, making sure every stroke was smooth and free of jagged edges.

Finally, she deemed it perfect, and left it spread out to dry.

Then the doorbell rang.

Immediately, Orihime flew into a panic.

_Ohmygosh! What if it's Ichigo? I can't let him in because he'll see the banner and the surprise will be ruined but I can't ignore him either because that would be rude and I can't pretend I'm not home because he's probably seen the light on outside and WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!?!?!_

Heart thudding in her ears, she looked out the peephole –

--and sighed in relief to recognize the ubiquitous clipboard and logo-ed t-shirt of a door-to-door salesman. She opened the door, smiling and chipper on the surface, while in fact, she wasn't listening to a word of his sales spiel. After politely declining the offer of whatever it was he was selling and closing the door, she breathed a sigh of relief (which she seemed to be doing a lot lately).

_I'm just being silly. Everything is fine, and everything's ready for tomorrow._

She already had a strict itinerary in mind:

8:00 – wake up; get dressed; have breakfast

8:30 – start decorating

12:00 – pick up birthday cake from Confection Perfection

12:30 – make and eat lunch

1:00 – cook/prepare party food

3:00 – clean up kitchen

4:00 –have shower; change into party outfit; dry hair

5:00 – be at door to greet guests

5:25 – get everyone hidden

5:30 – surprise Ichigo!

It was the perfect plan, carefully measured out.

_There's no room for anything to go wrong. Everything will be perfect!_

So why did she still feel jumpy?

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A/N: Okay, like I said before, this was supposed to be a oneshot, and I basically just took what I wrote and cut it in half. Sorry if this was a bit boring; part two will be better; I promise! See you next chapter, and, in the meantime, please review!

~Raye Lynne ^_^


	2. Part Two

**Our Favourite Strawberry**

A/N: Wow! 6 reviews, 6 favs, 9 subscribers, AND a community addition?!?!?!?! Wow, you guys are unreal! I love you! Thank you so much for your support! Here's part two, and I hope you like it!

~Raye

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Part Two

Orihime stood back and looked around at the living room, allowing a spark of pride to warm her heart. Clusters of balloons with ribbon-and-streamer tassels studded the walls in two separate, staggered rows, connected by and intricate criss-crossing of different-coloured twists of crepe paper. The twinkle lights were strung at waist height; the tiny bulbs reflected in myriad pixels off the hundreds of glitter-dipped paper stars around the room. Some were taped to the walls amongst the balloons and streamers; some were hanging, gently rotating, from the ceiling with the aid of some fishing line, and still others were attached to the red tablecloth that was draped over the kitchen table (which she'd painstakingly maneuvered through the agonizingly cramped kitchen doorway). She'd threaded ribbon through the hem of the tablecloth and pinned bunches of curled ribbon at the corners. Every available surface – the floor included – was dusted with a mix of glitter, confetti, and small ribbon curls. She'd moved the TV, the couch, and the coffee table aside. Unwilling to try and move them out of the room (or to find a place to store them, for that matter) she'd dutifully sprinkled them with the aforementioned garnish. For good measure, she'd run extra streamers down the length of the hallway and sprinkled the floors with confetti (not in the entryway, of course; that would have ruined the surprise!). She'd stationed her iPod and dock insurreptiously on top of the TV, deciding at the last minute to camouflage it with a large, multi-strand bow. Finally, the banner, completely dried, was strung up at the back of the room. That alone had taken nearly half an hour, for Orihime had needed to keep running back and forth in an effort to make it hang straight.

But, here it was, 11:30 exactly, just in time to make a run for the cake shop.

She arrived at noon (two minutes before, in fact), and there was only one other person in line ahead of her. Orihime was soon presented with a hinged cardboard box, adorned with a pink satin bow.

She left the shop and rounded the corner before her curiosity took over.

_I just have to see what it looks like! _She thought. _Maybe I should just wait until I get back to my apartment, though…_

_Well, no, _she reasoned. _What if they made a mistake, mixed up orders or something? If I'm right here, I can take it back and get the right one…_

Stopping in her tracks, Orihime carefully pulled up the lid of the box.

Then a cyclist crashed into her.

With a cry, she hit the pavement, and the box sailed from her arms and, with a sickening _splat_, landed in the middle of the street, streaking the asphalt with coloured icing.

The cyclist had been thrown off his bike. With a groan, he picked himself up.

"Why don't you watch where you're going next time, stupid?" he shouted.

"Why don't _you_ watch?" cried Orihime, but the biker, swearing under his breath, didn't hear; he remounted his now-somewhat-dented bike and pedaled away.

With a sense of numbness, Orihime stood up. Her clothes were covered in grit, and she would probably have a few bruises in the morning, but she was otherwise unharmed. Even still, inside her head, she was screaming as it registered exactly what the squashed cardboard box lying in the middle of the road meant.

She knew that, out of courtesy, she should go and scrape up the remains of what used to be a cake, but she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.

She realized she hadn't a moment to spare. After all, she couldn't go back to Confection Perfection and order a cake to be ready in five hours – less than that! It was impossible!

Doing her best to suppress a panic attack, Orihime ran back to her apartment as fast as she was able.

When she got back, she checked a clock – 12:45.

_I wasted that long standing in the middle of the street?!_

Lunch would have to be skipped. She couldn't afford to lose any more time, now that she had a cake to bake, too.

_But I'll have to make it using only what I already have – running to the store will take too much time!_

Orihime spent the next three and a half hours flying around the kitchen in a frenzy. Some of the food was easy; chips and candy could just be opened and poured into bowls (but these were saved for last; who wants stale chips, after all?). Fruits were carefully cut up and arranged in spiral patterns on plates before being returned to the fridge. Cookies, brownies, blondies, and homemade pizzas made their way in and out of the oven. Pocky of various flavours were arranged on small plates in perfectly symmetrical forty-point stars. A large bowls was filled with fruit juice, ginger ale, ice cubes, and lemon slices and thoroughly stirred. Finally, it was all set out on the table in the living room, complete with glasses, dishes, napkins, and utensils. (The freshly cooked goods were still hot, and they would be just warm enough for five-thirty. As well, she'd bought cheap, store-brand ginger ale, the kind that was overly fizzy, and therefore wouldn't get flat in that time, either.)

In the centre of it all stood The Cake. It was a round double-chocolate fudge confection, triple-layered with chocolate crème in between. The sides were slathered with the same, and crusted in chocolate shavings. The top was thickly dusted with powdered sugar, and she'd managed to write, "Happy Birthday, Ichigo!", albeit a little clumsily, with some leftover chocolate syrup she'd discovered in her fridge. The overall effect was something like a black forest cake but, instead of cherries, the rosettes of whipped cream around the top edge of the cake were studded with strawberries.

It was 4:16.

_I should be in the shower right now! _Thought Orihime frantically. _But I can't leave the kitchen looking the way it does._

So, when Tatsuki arrived fourteen minutes later, she was met by an Orihime whose hair was falling out of a sloppy ponytail, and whose ratty clothes were streaked with tomato sauce, globs of batter, flecks of melted chocolate, smudges of flour, and an enormous fruit juice stain.

"Hi, Tatsuki." Even though she was smiling, the exhaustion could clearly be heard in your voice. "You're early."

"Yeah, I thought I'd see if you needed some help setting up…" she peered around the corner. "Apparently not, though. Wow, you sure went all out."

"Not really…" said Orihime absently.

"Yes, really," said Tatsuki. She walked into the kitchen and whistled. "It looks like a bomb went off in here."

"I know; I need to finish cleaning."

"No kidding. But you'll never finish _and _be able to get yourself ready. Go clean yourself up; I'll take care of this."

"Really? Thanks so much, Tatsuki-chan!"

"No problem, now get movin' girl! Time's a-wastin'!"

After a quick but calming shower, Orihime felt much more relaxed. She returned to her room and dressed.

You know when you go shopping and you see something that's so pretty you just _have_ to have it, and you buy it, even if you have no idea where you'll wear it, but you just know that you'll use it for _something? _Well, this was the _something_ this dress had been kept waiting for. It was a cocktail-length, handkerchief-hemmed halter dress in a rich purple that contrasted beautifully with her hair. She slipped it on, the proceeded to blow-dry her hair with one hand, and with the other, brushed a coat of quick-drying polish on her toes to match her dress. Just as she was slipping in a pair of dangly silver earrings, Tatsuki came up.

"Done," she said, not without a hint of triumph.

"Already? Even the dishes?"

"In the dishwasher."

"It's broken."

"Yeah, I know. But no one's going to see them in there, right?"

Orihime smiled. Tatsuki was always finding an easier solution to problems that gave Orihime a monster headache.

"How much time left?" Orihime asked.

"Twelve minutes exactly."

"Can you help, please?"

"Sure thing."

For someone who only wore her short black hair gelled into spikes, Tatsuki was very skilled with a curling iron. While Orihime brushed polish onto her fingernails, then some mascara, and a little blush, her friend sculpted her muted orange tresses into soft ringlets.

With her blue-flowered rikka, Orihime pinned the top layers of hair off her face and behind her ears. Then she slipped into a pair of strappy black high-heeled sandals.

Then she looked at Tatsuki, in her slouchy grey-wash skinny-leg jeans, black t-shirt splashed with neon graffiti-style motifs, and ragged high-tops. "I'm overdressed," she said.

"No way," said Tatsuki. "You look awesome. Besides – you deserve to have Ichigo notice you. It's your day as much as his."

The doorbell rang.

"Right on time," said Orihime. "Thank you so much, Tatsuki; I couldn't have done it without you."

"I'm sure you'd have thought of something…but you're welcome." Tatsuki replied.

At the door was Uryuu, determined as ever to be punctual. He was soon followed by Chad, and Chizuru arrived moments later. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she saw Orihime's getup. She opened her mouth to say something, but a warning glance from Tatsuki convinced her to settle for a bone-crushing hug. Orihime didn't mind; she'd long ago learned to take these dubious "compliments" in stride. Besides, even if Chizuru was sometimes out of control, she was a good friend, and every bit as loyal as Tatsuki.

Mizuiro and Keigo arrived next. Mizuiro was holding an enormous creature constructed of bright shredded paper under his arm, and Keigo carried a baseball bat.

"It's a piñata!" he exclaimed. "What's a party without a piñata?"

"Okay, good idea!" exclaimed Orihime.

"I thought so," said Keigo smugly. "I must say, Inoue-san, you are looking extremely—"

Out of nowhere, Tatsuki appeared behind him and cleared her throat.

"Okay, okay, don't hurt me," Keigo whimpered, and Mizuiro laughed.

While the two were hanging up the piñata, Rukia came to the door, wearing a blue t-shirt dress as opposed to her shihakusho. To Orihime's surprise, Renji and Ikkaku were with her (also wearing normal clothes, thankfully).

"I told Renji and he told Ikkaku, and they both wanted to come," Rukia said apologetically.

"No, no, that's okay! The more the merrier!" said Orihime cheerfully.

Isshin, Karin, Yuzu, and Kon all arrived together. "Ichigo's gonna be here in a few minutes," said Karin. "We snuck out the back door, but we saw him getting ready to leave."

"Okay, then." Orihime raised her voice. "Okay, everybody, hide! Ichigo will be here soon!"

Karin and Yuzu, dragging Kon, slipped under the table, and everyone else crawled in behind the couch. Orihime went and hung a note on the outside of the door; it read: _It's unlocked; come on in! _Then she went and crouched behind the TV.

All was silent, and everyone held their breath when the doorknob rattled.

Ichigo walked into the entryway; the first thing he noticed was the silence.

"Hello?" he called.

No answer.

He walked around the corner, into the living room.

"Hey, is anyone--?" He stopped. He'd seen all the balloons and streamers, the food and the cake laid out. But he also saw the banner that hung in the back: _Wishing a happy sixteenth birthday to Ichigo Kurosaki – our favourite strawberry._

Then everyone jumped out.

_"Surprise!!!"_

Ichigo blinked. "Whoa."

While everyone else mobbed him, giving him hugs and friendly punches on the arm (or, in the case of Rukia, a serious noogie), Orihime turned the iPod on, and the latest All-American Rejects song permeated the chaos.

"Wow, you guys," said Ichigo, still looking a bit stunned. "You shouldn't have."

"We didn't," Rukia grinned.

"Yeah, it was all Orihime's idea," said Tatsuki.

"Really?" said Ichigo. Orihime felt a small thrill when he turned to face her, and she saw something in his eyes that could be the makings of a smile, if given a moment to travel to the corners of his mouth. "Th—"

Keigo, his timing as terrible as ever, came over, clapped Ichigo on the shoulder, and handed him the baseball bat. "Piñata time, dude!" he cried.

Ichigo held the bat straight out to test its weight, as one would with a sword (or a zanpaku-to). "All right," he said, hefting it over his shoulder, eyeballing the colourful horse-shaped ornament. "That stupid-looking thing is history."

"Not without a blindfold," said Mizuiro.

Ichigo was wearing a bandanna around his neck. "We can use that," Orihime said.

"Okay."

Orihime tied the bandanna around Ichigo's eyes, careful not to get any of his hair caught in the knot.

Renji and Ikkaku came and spun him around.

'Hey! Hey! Guys, that's enough!" Ichigo yelled. "Jeez, do ya want me to pass out?"

"That would make it difficult to hit the piñata," Uryuu noted.

"Hilarious, Ishida."

Despite everything, Ichigo knocked the head off the piñata with the first swing, and Orihime cheered, even though Keigo whined something about it being over too quickly, but everyone dove to collect the cheap individually-wrapped candies that spilled out. Laughter and hilarity ensued as Renji and Ikkaku play-wrestled over the last one. Ichigo, determined to get revenge for the spinning, joined in, and Isshin soon followed, for some reason. Then Rukia got into the fray and whupped all four guys, to the amusement of everyone else.

Chizuru had brought her games system, plus Dance Dance Revolution and Rock Band. They hooked up Rock Band first. Keigo dragged the unfortunate Chad, Uryuu, and Mizuiro to be his background players while he murdered the song that everybody already hated: "I'm Too Sexy" (that song even had a guitar/bass part? Who knew?). Next, the four Kurosakis went up, with Isshin insisting on another bad song: "Should I Stay or Should I Go?". Ichigo played the drums on expert and scored 97%. Next, Tatsuki convinced Orihime to play bass (on easy level) to Chizuru's guitar, Rukia's drums, and her own vocals to Paramore's "Crush Crush Crush", which they performed rather well. Then Rukia stayed on drums while Renji picked up the guitar, Ikkaku the bass, and Ichigo, to everyone's amazement, the mic. The four shinigami pulled off a good performance of Wolfmother, and Ichigo surprised everyone by doing a fair amount of justice to the lyrics of "Joker and the Thief".

At some point, everyone decided to switch over to DDR, and while a twosome squared off, everyone else sat around, nibbling on the food and egging on the dancers. Quiet Mizuiro surprised everyone with his skill and Uryuu surprised no one by being terrible, but eh knew he was bad, and laughed at the catcalls along with everyone else.

Somehow, Orihime found herself facing off against Ichigo, to the beat of "La Vida Loca". The idea of friendly competition excited her, and she attempted to show off a little – only that didn't work so well; her heels weren't the best idea on the foamy mats, and she landed wrong and fell.

But she didn't mind, because Ichigo was the first one there to help her up.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yep! Thanks."

"Yeah, don't mention it. And, I was trying to say it earlier, but—"

"Let's do presents!" said Chizuru. "C'mon, Ichigo!" And she dragged him away.

Orihime stood, frozen.

_Presents?_

There they all were, gaily wrapped and stacked haphazardly on the coffee table; one had been brought in by each person (with the exception of Kon, who obviously couldn't display signs of life around some of the guests). How could she have missed them? She didn't know. Only one thing stood out to her now.

_I was so absorbed in planning the perfect party that I forgot to get Ichigo a present!_

Tears welled up in her eyes.

_How could I have been so stupid? I'm going to look so stupid in front of everybody, and Ichigo will be mad at me! I've ruined everything!_

When nobody was looking, Orihime slipped out of the room and quickly wandered down the hall to her bedroom. She sat down on her bed, buried her face in her makeshift-manicured hands, and began to cry.

_I've worked so hard to make everything perfect, but I've messed it all up!_

A few minutes later, she heard Chad say, "Hey, where's Orihime?"

"I saw her leave a few minutes ago," said Tatsuki. "But I didn't realize she hadn't come back…"

"I'll go look for her," said Ichigo.

"I'll go," said Rukia.

"No, let Ichigo," said Tatsuki quickly. "See, he's already left."

Orihime hadn't bothered to close her door, and now she frantically debated whether or not she should.

_There's no time; he's already coming' it'll seem rude if I do it now._

Back in the living room, the iPod began playing a new song.

_I'm starin' at a broken door  
There's nothin' left here anymore  
My room is cold  
It's makin' me insane  
_

Orihime thought, _That's one of the songs I meant to take off the playlist; it's too slow for a party; I should go change it._ She dried her eyes (thankfully, her mascara was waterproof), and went to the doorway, only to be met there by Ichigo.

_I've been waitin' here so long  
But now the moment seems to've come  
I see the dark clouds comin' up again_

"Are you okay?" asked Ichigo.

"I'm fine," she replied, but her voice sounded a little strangled.

"Orihime, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied. "I have to go change the song."

"Why? It's a good song."

"You like Tokio Hotel, too?"

"Yeah, they're pretty cool. They've got this totally different sound."

"Does Bill Kaulitz sound kind of like a girl, or is that just me?"

"No, he does – but it's still a good song, right?"

"Right," Orihime smiled.

"So are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm fine."

'Hey," Ichigo's voice was uncharacteristically soft. "I can tell something's bothering you."

_Runnin' through the monsoon  
Beyond the world  
To the end of time  
Where the rain won't hurt  
Fighting the storm  
Into the blue  
And when I lose myself  
I'll think of you  
Together we'll be runnin' somewhere new  
Through the monsoon  
Just me and you_

Orihime caved. "I didn't get you a birthday present. I forgot. I'm sorry."

Ichigo blinked. "That's it?"

"What do you mean? You're not mad?"

"Of course not! You didn't have to do anything for me at all, but you did all of this! All of this – it's amazing, Orihime. It's way more than I ever expected."__

A half moon's fading from my sight  
I see your vision in it's light  
But now it's gone and left me so alone

"I shouldn't have said it like that," Ichigo amended. "'Cause, I mean, I know you can do stuff like this when you want. I just never expected you would do it for me – hey, why are you crying again?"

_  
I know I have to find you now  
Can hear your name  
I don't know how  
Why can't we make this darkness feel like home?_

"I'm just so happy – that you're not mad. I was afraid – because I wanted to give you the best birthday ever."

"Hey." With a single finger, Ichigo reached out and tapped Orihime on the underside of her chin, causing her to loom up. He gently swiped a finger under her eyes, wiping away the tears. "You have."

And then – he smiled!

It was a soft, comforting sort of half-smile, but Orihime didn't care what kind it was. _He's so beautiful! _She thought, and then she stood up on her toes and kissed him on the lips.__

Runnin' through the monsoon  
Beyond the world  
To the end of time  
Where the rain won't hurt  
Fighting the storm  
Into the blue  
And when I lose myself  
I'll think of you  
Together we'll be runnin' somewhere new  
And nothing can hold me back from you  
Through the monsoon  


Immediately, he placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her back.

Orihime's heart was soaring. She felt as if she had wings, and that she'd left behind every worry, every care she'd ever had; she was above it all, and Ichigo was with her; they were side by side, floating, flying…

_  
Hey… _

_Hey…  
I'm fightin' all it's power  
Comin' in my way  
Let it take me straight to you  
I'll be runnin' night and day  
I'll be with you soon, _

_Just me and you,  
We'll be there soon_

_So soon… _

"Happy birthday, Ichigo."

"I told you I didn't need a present," he said. "That was what I really wanted." And then he smiled again, and in it was the 'thank you' he'd been trying to give her the whole time. Orihime's heart flopped over and exclaimed _!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

Runnin' through the monsoon  
Beyond the world  
To the end of time  
Where the rain won't hurt 

"We should get back," said Orihime. "The others will be wondering what's going on…"

"Let them," Ichigo said simply.

"Hey, Birthday Boy and Ichigo-hime, can ya quit making out long enough to come and cut the cake?" called Chizuru.

"Or maybe they're not wondering." Orihime blushed, but she laughed anyway.

_  
Fighting the storm  
Into the blue  
_

"It looks like I'm going to be called 'Princess Strawberry' a lot from now on."

"Does that bother you?"

"No."

_And when I lose myself  
I'll think of you  
_

'Orihime – a few days ago, when we were talking about movies, and you mentioned _When the River Cries…"_

"Yes…"

"I was wondering if you'd let me take you."

"I would—yes! But I never thought you'd be interested!"

"I'd see anything, if I could go with you." He made a face. "Wow, that was sappy. Man, if I hadn't liked you for so long, I'd be kicking myself for saying something like that."

Orihime smiled. "I don't mind."

"Ichigo, unless you want Dad to come and embarrass the heck out of you, you and Orihime'd better get in here!" called Karin.

Ichigo shook his head, resigned. "Let's go." He took her hand.

_Together we'll be runnin' somewhere new  
And nothing can hold me back from you  
Through the monsoon  
Through the monsoon  
Just me and you  
Through the monsoon  
Just me and you_

When they came into the living room, all the main lights had been turned off. Only the twinkling red-and-white lights and the golden glow of sixteen lit candles illuminated the room.

"Make a wish, nii-san," said Yuzu.

In the semi-darkness, Ichigo and Orihime shared a secret smile. They knew that his wish had already been granted – and hers along with it.

----------------------------

A/N: There you have it! Hope you liked it in all its cheesy fluffiness!

Do any of you play Rock Band? I suck at it cuz I've only ever played it a couple times in my life, but I love it! I have to play everything on easy, but I'm pretty good at drums – and vocals, I guess, but you can sing anytime. Drums are more fun to just wale on and be like YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Okay, enough of that.

Please review! And feel free to check out any of my other stories!

Thanks for your support! This is your exhausted-but-feeling-that-her-efforts-are-worthwhile-author, over and out!

~Raye^^


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